Children’s Sermon

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Come Away and Rest

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Come Away and Rest

OBJECTS SUGGESTED:

Metal coat hanger.

Do you ever wonder why we need to sleep? When your mom or dad says, “It’s time for bed,” you may be having a lot of fun and going to bed is not the thing you want to do right then.

Let’s talk about why rest is so important. We find, in nature, examples of what happens when things get tired. In a place where it snows, you will see snow pile up on tree branches. The snow gets heavier and heavier. We could say the tree gets tired from holding up all that snow and sometimes when that happens a branch will break. If we were able to go out and shake snow from the branch, give the tree a rest, the branch would still be attached to the tree.

Let’s think about another example––a simple coat hanger. If I twist the hanger in opposite directions, like this, you will feel the metal get hot at the spot where it is moving back and forth. We could say the hanger is getting tired and might even break.

Jesus talks about the importance of rest. Jesus and his disciples had been working very hard to tell others about God’s love. They were so busy they didn’t even have time to eat. Jesus said, “You come apart into a deserted place, and rest awhile” (v. 31).

If we become too busy our bodies slow down and don’t work as well as they should. We become tired. Jesus reminds us to “rest awhile.”

A wonderful thing happens when you slow down, rest, and are silent. You may hear things you miss when you are busy – frogs croaking in a nearby puddle, the wind rustling through trees, a beautiful bird’s song, the music of rain, or your mother’s voice telling you she loves you.